Upcycled Vintage Buttons Charm Bracelet | TUTORIAL


Whoever thought of using old buttons as jewelry, kudos to you. It's smart. Buttons are like beads, they have holes. The holes make it easy to string jump rings through. I wanted to upcycle some buttons and it resulted in sprucing up an old charm bracelet.


You Will Need:

  • Bracelet chain
  • Vintage buttons
  • Jump rings


Instructions:
  1. Add jump rings to your buttons
  2. Add jump rings with attached buttons to your bracelet chain
  3. Done.


Yes, basically all you need is a chain, buttons and jump rings (I also used tweezers to ply open the jump rings but I'm sure there's a designated jewelry makers tool I'm unaware of).

I found a cute vintage charm bracelet on EBay awhile back, that I thought was perfect for this since it has a few charms leaving enough spaces for the buttons to fill. I do want to make it more bulky though. When I find more cool vintage buttons then it'll be nice and full o' charms. Until then, this is what I got going, check it yo.

15 WAYS TO UPCYCLE CANNING JAR LIDS

Oh no! Your glass jar broke and you're left with a mess and a lid. You can clean up and get rid of the mess but you wonder, what am I do with this lid?? Well don't you dare throw it out...

1. Canning Jar Lids Wreath by Funky Junk Interiors.

2. DIY Pincushion Sewing Kit

3. Tap Handle Ornaments by Funky Junk Interiors.

4. Canning Jar Ring Pumpkin (The Original Junkin' Pumpkin) by Yellow Bliss Road.

5. Coaster from Jar Lid tutorial by Karminas Crafts.

6. Baby Food Jars with Painted Animal Lids by Upcycled Your Life.

7. Upcycled Jar Lids, Quote Collection by Johanna de Derde.

8. Canning Lid Christmas Card Ornaments

9. Photo Jar Lids as Christmas Tree Ornaments by My Busy Craft Life.

10. DIY Jar Lid Snow Globe by Modern Typography.

11. Jar Lid Memory Game via Homemade by Jill.

12. Lid Garden Markers

13. DIY Mason Jar Soap Dispenser

14. Jar Lid Gift Tags by Green Phone Booth.

15. Pretty Paper Scraps Decoupage Lids

DIY EASY UPCYCLING | T-shirt & Lace Headbands

 
Since most T-shirts are soft, stretchy comfortable material, it makes sense that they can be used to make soft, stretchy comfortable headbands. Personally, I'm not a big fan of using hair accessories but headbands are sometimes really cute, too cute to pass up on. Also not to mention quite useful. Like for working out, to keep your hair out of your face and to cover your ears when it's cold out, least the wide headbands anyway. I always have t-shirt scraps and lace so I thought I'd make some upcycled headbands for myself.

I took a sleeve from this long sleeve tee...


& made a turban style headband.


For that headband, I basically followed the tutorial mentioned below. I've also included other tutorials demonstrating the basic kinds of DIY headbands out there. They are eco-friendly and easy to make. Check them out!

Twisted Turban Headband by Honeybee Vintage.

Stretch Lace Headband by The Salty Pineapple.

Flower Headband by Craft Snob.

Shabby Chic Lace Headband by Little Tee Tee.

Knotted Headband by Sugar Bee Crafts.

Runners Headband by Maiden Jane.

Flowers Thin Headband by The Craft Patch.

5-strand Braided Headband by Make It Love It.

Bow Headband by Made it on Monday

Sleeve Headband by Rain Blanken, About.com Guide

No-Sew Headband by I Am Momma - Hear Me Roar.

DIY EASY UPCYCLING | Alluminum Tin Can Planters

Have you ever tried El Pato hot tomato sauce? If you're into cooking Mexican food, you should. It adds a little kick of heat to any dish, like rice. I call it "Pato Rice". Yes duck rice. Anything with sauce added to it becomes "Pato, whatever". It's a cabinet staple in this household.

Aside from the interior product, I've always been drawn to the cute, bold, brightly colored exterior. Those logos, I call them Mexikitsch. When I saw a photo of some Pato cans turned into planters on Pinterest, I knew I had to do that for myself.
Mira, mira! I paired them with colorful cacti...





This is a quick and easy DIY because all you're basically doing is opening, emptying and rinsing out the cans. Followed by making or drilling little holes on the bottoms for drainage. Then add soil with whatever little plant you want! I've also seen lovely tea tins as planters. So don't recycle all your cans just yet, save some and get creative for your plants.



Pumpkin Vanilla Chai French Macarons | RECIPE

Are french macarons still trending? I don't know and honestly, don't care. Whether they are trending or not, they are forever cute and scrumptious. In an effort to come up with my own flavoring I concocted a fall inspired french macaron that is sure to please your autumnal cravings.

For the first french macarons I made, I followed Beth's Foolproof French Macaron Recipe. She knows her stuff, her tips are excellent, you should definitely check out her youtube channel for other recipes as well!


Pumpkin Vanilla Chai French Macarons

Ingredients:

For cookies-
For buttercream filling-

Cookie Instructions:

Preheat oven to 300° degrees. Beat egg whites until foamy, then add salt, cream of tartar and white sugar for 8-10 mins. Make sure egg whites are room temperature. Let them sit in room temperature water for 5 mins if they are straight out of the fridge. Whip egg mix until peaks are formed and they stand upright.

Sift almond meal thoroughly and then the powered sugar. There will be bigger lumps of almond meal that remain. Don't throw those out, keep them as a snack or crush them further. Add the tea packets. Mix the almond meal, sugar and tea together using a fork. 

Fold flour/sugar mix into egg mix. *Attention* undermix and your macarons will be lumpy and cracked with no feet. Overmix and your macarons will be flat with no feet. You want a lava-like consistency. 65-75 turns of your spatula will result in the right amount but it varies depending on you. For me about 70 turns was good enough.

Transfer batter to a pastry bag. Pipe out 1 inch rounds on a baking sheet lined with paper. 

Tap the pan hard 2-3 times to release air bubbles. Let your cookies sit for 20-30 mins at least. If you can give them an hour, even better. When you put your finger on them the cookie batter should not stick to you. It should not be tacky, that's how you know they're ready for baking. Bake for about 10-12 minutes, until set but not browned; let cookies cool completely before filling.

Buttercream Instructions:

Whip the salted butter until pale and fluffy. Add the pumpkin butter and then slowly add the sugar.

Whip until all is combined. Transfer buttercream to a pastry bag filled with a small tip 1/4" diameter, or just snip off a corner of the bag.

Reverse cookie shells on their backs and pipe a small mound of filling on one of them.

Sandwich the cookies and refrigerate, covered, at least 24 hours before serving.

Voilà



DIY EASY UPCYCLING | Pistachio Crafts

I love pistachios. They are my favorite! Actually they tie with almonds but this post is about pistachios so forget I just mentioned almonds.

All you need is a hot glue gun and your shells, then you can form flowers like these.

For my pistachio shells craft, This was my inspiration:

DIY: Hanging “Succulent Garden” Made With Pistachio Shells by Addicted 2 Decorating.

Initially I wanted to make the exact same thing but then I changed my mind and thought I would just make the flowers and use them to adorn a wreath.

I made mine different sizes to create interest and give it some flair.

This is the result. I made the wreath out of cardboard covered or wrapped in black yarn. I added a black sateen sash to tie it up.


I actually want the wreath to be much fuller so less of the wreath is seen. I have to buy more pistachios though and save up their shells again. I will add the final, final result when that happens. For now this is it.

Here's a few other interesting & creative ways to Upcycle pistachio shells:

When Christmas time comes, decorate your tree with Pistachio Shells Ornaments! Tutorial here ~Made by Joey.

DIY Pistachio Shells Wall Art by Spanish Pinay.

Inspiration: A 23x23cm multicolored Collage made ​​with pistachio shells hand painted on a gray perforated support by bicocacolors @ Etsy.

DIY Food- Safe Bowl found @ Instructables.

Inspiration: Pistachio Shell Halter Top by Twisted Textiles.

Petite pistachio Chandelier by Shoestring Pavilion.

Pistachio Nut Shell Hair Falls
by Mieljolie.

DIY Ombre pistachio shell Necklace by Crème de la Craft

Inspiration: pistachio shell Earrings by Dreamspirit Creations.

Painted Pistachio Shell Decorations tutorial by Jacqueline.

Get to it.